Well this is a bummer...I got new medical jewelry

There is a lot of information in this post. So towards the middle is the serious medical information. The first part is just pointless stuff!

Sunday night through Tuesday I had fever. I don't know why but I felt horrible. Thankfully I don't think I have fever anymore.

Yesterday we headed to the hospital for my Cardiologist appointment. We drove up saying this was the same building my Rhematologist was in. I went to him right before we found out I have Lyme. He diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia and put me on Cymbalta, Ambien CR, Lunesta, and some other strong medicines. I was 15 at the time and none of that is approved for anyone under 18. I started taking them anyway and I blacked out a few times from them. We called the emergency doctor and he told me to stop taking everything. That is when we threw all the medicines in the trash and knew this was not the right path to be on. I never went back to him.

So yesterday we valet parked and got in the elevators and ended up in the SAME place that my rhematologist was in. Thankfully my rhemetologist isn't there anymore...

It was weird being there again, especially since we never came back.

They took me to triage and took my vitals. It took at least 2 cuffs and 3 tries to find my blood pressure. The nurse asked if I always have trouble getting my blood pressure to read and I said yes. I also told her that my blood pressure is always 90/60. She was still determined to find out for herself. When it finally read it was pretty close to 90/60. It's kind of funny that I have to tell my nurses where my good veins are and what my blood pressure and heart rate are. I'm unique because usually if you have a high heart rate your blood pressure will be high too. Nope, not with me. My heart rate is always too high and my blood pressure is always super low. Nurses can't even count my heart rate because it's too fast. Thank goodness for machines that read it for you. At triage my heart rate was 132 bpm.

After all that she took me to my room and told me to change into the gown. Well that was a bummer because it was a little chilly. After I got my gown on, another nurse came in to do an EKG. I guess it's just standard procedure to do an EKG on everyone who comes in because I have had like 4 EKGs recently. My EKGs are always fine.

After that, the doctor finally came in! We went over my life story 900 times and he listened to my heart and all that fun stuff. His first question was, and I quote "so where did you get the Lyme from? Did you live or travel to the north?" I thought oh no! here we go again. Please don't make us have to be escorted out of the building by security. Just don't even go there. (just kidding we aren't that rude but it's come close a few times) He finally moved on and was okay.

-Medical Information-

We started talking and he told us a few years ago that another girl my age came to him with Lyme disease. Her heart was completely blocked from the Lyme so they immediately admitted her to the hospital and started her on antibiotics and steroids. I'm glad she got to the cardiologist fast so he was able to save her life. They caught her Lyme in stage 1 so they reversed the heart problems and she's fine!

From glancing at my echocardiogram, he saw that there is something wrong with the muscles in my heart. He is going to call us in a few days and update us on what he sees when he has a chance to look in detail on my test results.

He said I definitely have tachycardia. That just means that my heart is faster than normal. I think above 100 is diagnosed as tachycardia. Fast heart rate is normal for a Lyme patient but that doesn't mean we can just forget about it. The Lyme is definitely attacking my heart which can obviously cause serious problems.

The doctor said that we need to find out what is causing the fast heart and how the Lyme is attacking my heart. In the next couple of weeks he might put me on beta blockers. We first need to see what's going on with my heart structurally. So for now we are waiting on him to call and tell us what the plan is.

On the way to the hospital I told my mom that I was hoping I wouldn't have to wear a heart monitor for a couple days. Well lucky me, I get to wear one for a whole 30 days!!!

When the nurse told us I about ran away. But I was very polite and tried to contain myself. It's a really complicated thing and she taught us in 10 minutes.

There are four circular pads that go on my chest and stomach that have color coded wires. The wires connect to a monitor that is recording everything. There is also a huge cell phone that I have to keep with me at all times because the monitor sends the information through the cell phone to a computer. Someone is ALWAYS watching my heart from the computer and can contact me through the phone if there is a problem. I have to wear all this around my neck...pretty much like an adorable necklace. Try not to be jealous.

I have to charge the phone every few hours which is a little annoying because then I can't go anywhere because the phone is plugged in to the wall. The only thing on the phone is a screen that shows a beating heart and where the wires go. Several times today I have set off alarms because the wires fall off or something like that. Also, if I feel dizzy, light headed, faint, chest pains, or anything like that, I push a button on the monitor and then on the phone i type in what symptom I am having. So at random unknown times the monitor and phone send off alarms. If I have to submit a symptom, then that sets off alarms too. I'm not sure how this will work in public...

I think that is all we know right now. We were hoping for easy answers but we didn't get any. The doctor was very nice and helpful.

I hope you have a great weekend! I will update as soon as I know something. Thanks so much for the prayers!!